MOBILE, Alabama – All of the testimony has been presented in the capital murder trial of Carlos Edward Kennedy. The only thing left before the jury decides are arguments from the lawyers.

The third day of testimony Wednesday swerved into the surreal, with the defendant taking the stand – against the strong advice of his attorneys – and then refusing to answer any of their questions.

Here are some of the highlights:

Best prosecution moment: Kennedy’s testimony. Defendants in murder cases usually do not testify, and for good reason. Doing so allows the prosecutor to cross-examine the witness and confront him with prior criminal offenses that otherwise would be inadmissible.

Mobile County Assistant District JoBeth Murphree may have regarded Kennedy’s decision as a gift. But before she even took her turn, the defendant did arguable damage to his case. He announced that he is not cooperating with his court-appointed lawyers and that he would not answer questions posed by attorney Jason Darley.

Instead, Kennedy used his time on the stand largely to complain about not being allowed to represent himself. He likely did not help himself with the jury by testifying that he had a relationship with the victim, Zoa White, but would not talk about it out of respect for her.

Under cross-examination, he also testified that would not answer questions about his blood that police found in White’s Midtown Mobile house. He also refused to answer questions about his 2009 arrest on charges that he masturbated in a Mobile’s woman’s house.

Best defense moment: Defense attorney Art Powell’s cross-examination of Mobile police Detective Mac R. “Rusty” Hardeman. Powell did an effective job of highlighting the fact that Hardeman – at least initially – believed the scene had been “staged” to make it look like a burglary.

It’s a key point because burglary is an aggravating factor that elevates murder to a capital offense, punishable by death. Hardeman wrote in sworn statements after White’s death that it looked like the window of her kitchen had been broken after she died. He cited a lack of blood inside the window and the fact that neighbors who heard breaking glass did not hear any screams or other sounds afterward.

Hardeman testified that while he did at first think the assailant entered White’s home with her permission, it was before he had all the facts.

Newsmaker reference: Bill Johnson. The former director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, White’s boss during Bob Riley’s gubernatorial administration, was one of a number of friends and relatives who gave fingerprint and DNA samples to investigators following her death.

At the time, police had no suspects and asked for samples from a number of people in White’s circle in order to rule them out. Hardeman testified that neither Johnson nor any of the other men and women ever were considered suspects in the case.

Johnson was a gubernatorial candidate at the time of White’s death. His DNA would become an issue in completely different context the following year when news broke that he was living a secret life in New Zealand as a sperm donor for lesbian couples. But that’s a story for another time.